The institute is engaged in a multitude of metallic and ceramic materials, material oriented design and characterization concernig microstructure, fractography, mechanical and corosive properties.
For this purpose the institute is well equiped with a complete ceramic pilot plant station, mechanical test facilities for creep load, quasistatic, impact and cyclic load tests, light and scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and corosion testing. In particular for ceramic components Finite Element Analysis of load and joining stresses plays an important role in design and safety case.